Her Hope: Titania's Shinigami!
by Sevelar
Summary: Ichigo is mortified at what he has done to Ulquiorra. He soon finds himself hurling into the Kingdom of Fiore, where a charismatic guild finds him! He chooses to temporarily join them. What he does not remember, is that he has been here before, And that his influence to a certain mage have molded everything she has done for her guild!
1. Chapter 1

Ichigo fell to the ground in a miserable heap. He could not get up. He looked over at the mangled thing he saw that was once his enemy. He felt bile rise up in his throat.

_No.._._That wasn't me, that wasn't me, that wasn't me.._

But Ichigo knew the repeating a lie wasn't going to make it the truth. He had been the one to that. It was one thing to kill someone, but it was way worse to carve up the corpse. Except, Ichigo hadn't given Ulquiorra the satisfaction of death. He had done the second step far ahead of death...and it sickened him to the core. Nobody deserved something like that...

He heard the clang of metal plunging into the crust of the floor of Hueco Mundo. Ichigo looked up instinctively. It was his sword. Ulquiorra's mangled form slightly ahead of it.

"Finish our battle" The Espada said in a voice far too calm for the state he was in.

"I did that to you..." said Ichigo, struggling to find his voice. "I stabbed Ishida with my sword...If it was I that cut your limbs, Ulquiorra..."

Ichigo grabbed the hilt of his sword and slowly got up, his weight supported by his sword. He swayed dangerously, but did not fall. He took out his sword and pointed it at Ulquiorra.

However, his intent had not been to fight.

"Then cut off mine!" he yelled.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue said; her eyes as wide as saucers. Ulquiorra gazed at Ichigo with an almost amused expression.

"I was unconscious when I fought you...when that thing took control over me...That wasn't me!" Ichigo insisted. "It wouldn't be a fair fight unless I'm in the same state as you!"

"Stop it, Ichigo!" yelled Ishida from where he sat. "Do you realize what you're saying?! Ichigo!"

Ulquiorra however, seemed to have different ideas. "Very well then. I shall comply, if that is your wish"

He spread out his wings, ready to lunge at Ichigo. However, as soon as he spread his wings, they started withering away. Ulquiorra looked at his wings, and made a very audible _tsk_. "I'm that far gone...?"

Ichigo's eyes widened at the sudden occurrence. Ulquiorra stared Ichigo dead in the eye.

"Kill me"

Ichigo's eyes were now as wide as Orihime's. "Wh-what?"

"Hurry up. I no longer have the strength to walk...You will never finish the fight if you don't kill me"

Ichigo gritted his teeth, his face a sea of emotions. He uttered one word before the darkness enveloped him.

"No"

* * *

The first thing Ichigo registered was falling. He was falling at a very fast rate, his body limp. His body felt fragile, as though just touching it would cause him to shatter to a million pieces. He turned around mid flight, and spread his body into the typical skydiving styled fall.

He was very high up. He could tell that by the nearing of clouds. At least he had Zangetsu with him...right?

Still in his tattered Bankai outfit, Ichigo gripped Zangetsu as tightly as possible and braced for his fall. He would maybe survive it if he hadn't been in a fight. He literally had no idea on how he was going to survive this.

As soon as he passed through the clouds, Ichigo got a view of what he was falling down to. It was a city, a pretty big one, maybe twice the size of Karakura. In the middle, was probably one of the hugest buildings of the place.

Ichigo could make out people coming out of this huge building. He couldn't make out who they were, or how they knew he was falling. He closed his eyes, and hoped he'd live through this.

* * *

Fairy Tail had just won the Grand Magic Games, and was feeling pretty content. Even for a guild as bustling as Fairy Tail, they needed their rest. Even Natsu and Gray weren't fighting, which certainly amounted to something.

Lucy Heartfilia had just gotten back from a mission that had taken her out of town to some perverted old man's estate. The mission had been to find a set of rather immature magazines that had been stolen by some monsters. Why the monsters had stolen it? Lucy had no idea. But she was tired, as they had walked all the way (Gray and Natsu had insisted on it, as they had made a bet about who would reach there first. There was no Erza around to curb them, as she had gone on a mission alone. It ended with both of the said mages collapsed near the entrance of the Guild Hall)

"Mirajane...be honest to me...Just why are they always so competitive?" uttered Lucy in an exasperated tone, to which Mirajane simply laughed jovially.

"They've been like that for as far as I can imagine! Besides, they are the life of the party"

"Yeah...You could say that" mumbled Lucy. "Has Erza arrived yet?"

"Nope. She went on an S-ranked job and still hasn't returned. Give it time. Her job is probably destroying another one of Zeref's monsters"

"Like Deliora" said Lucy, remembering the monster Natsu had caused to fall apart (All though it hadn't been due to his power).

"Oh well. I think I'll go home to my ho-"

It happened instantly. Everyone in the Guild felt it. A vast amount of magical energy was being exerted, making it difficult for most people to stand. Most of the mages like Mirajane, Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Lucy didn't suffer as badly as the considerably weaker members of Fairy tail, but they felt it. Natsu and Gray quickly got to their feet, applying extra effort due to this alien source of power.

"Can magic be used that way?" Mirajane asked, looking over at the Guild Master who had just come out of his room.

"I haven't felt like this in a long time" muttered Makarov. "Everybody! Outside! From the pressure I'm feeling, the origin of this source is from up..."

And so, the member of Fairy tail went out. The mages weren't the only one who felt the power. People were outside, gazing at the sky.

"There" said Alzack, pointing at the sky. His eyesight was pretty good, considering his wife and he were marksmen "You can see it, can't you, Bisca?"

Bisca nodded. "A human. He's falling fast...He's...got a sword in his hand?"

"That can't be right" said Makarov. "I could have sworn some demon was emitting this...No human should be capable of that..."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We're going to save him, of course!" said Lucy. "He can't be doing this on purpose. He probably fought someone in the sky..."

"Maybe he's a dragon slayer! He could have fought a dragon!" chimed Natsu, suddenly interested in this boy.

"None of us can fly. The ones who can probably can't help him. Where's Panther Lily?!" Makarov demanded, looking at Gajeel, who simply shrugged at the question.

"Master. I can fly with Satan Soul" said Mirajane. Makarov nodded.

"Tell that man to stop emitting his magical energy like that while you're at it. If he tries to attack you, take him down"

Mirajane nodded, and activated her Satan Soul take over. She had never seen Makarov this scared, the one time being when he had seen Acnologia. Mirajane spread her bat-like wings, and flew towards the falling boy.

* * *

Ichigo was gaining a little bit of his energy back. Still not enough to prevent him from falling though. He squinted his eyes as he noticed something come towards him. Something vaguely humanoid.

"Great" he yelled, for the wind made it impossible for him to speak otherwise. "A Hollow. Just great" he gripped his sword and watched as the figure drew closer.

Mirajane frowned as she looked at the boy clearly. He was about her age, give or take maybe two years. He had orange hair, and was half naked. His shirt had been torn off completely, except for a circular piece of cloth around his waist.

Mirajane had not expected to see him. She had expected to see some sort of powerful being. It was tough getting close to him. It felt like a huge hand was pushing her away.

"Stay back!" she made him say that much. She rushed towards him, and stopped flying, so as to mirror his falling style.

"Stop emitting so much magical energy! It's hurting us!"

"Like hell I will, hollow!" he said, and did a rather pathetic attempt of trying to cut Mirajane. The blade didn't even come close to Mirajane.

"Hollow? What the hell is that?"

"Nice try!" the boy growled and swung again, this one far weaker than its predecessor. Mirajane sighed.

"I don't know what this hollow thing is, and nor am I going to act like I care. Do you want to live or not? Because you are in NO condition to argue. All I want is for you to stop letting out so much energy!"

"I have no idea what you're on about!"

Mirajane sighed. He wasn't much of a threat, so she decided to just do what Master Makarov had asked. She grabbed his arm and instantly, the boy stopped falling. It was truly...odd. Mirajane hung up in the sky with the boy dangling. They slowly descended down.

As Ichigo's feet touched the ground, his figure completely crumpled. He fell to the ground, exhausted. His vision was a big blur. He felt two pairs of hands picking him up by his arms.

"What the...Stop" Ichigo muttered, his head now spinning. He was being carried somewhere.

"Let go..." his voice was weak. He hated it when got beaten. He hated it when he could not protect the people he had sworn to. He hated the fact that he had carved a living soul.

All in all, Ichigo hated himself. He hated himself more than anything, more than the Arrancars, more than Urahara's stupid expressions, more than Yoruichi's constant teasing, and more than Aizen. He guessed Aizen had succeeded.

He had broken Ichigo Kurosaki, and Ichigo feared he might never come back. For the third time in the span of twenty four hours, he blacked out.

* * *

"He's waking up!"

"Brilliant! Can I fight him now?"

"Of course you can't, idiot! Look at him! He probably can't handle himself in a fight, in the condition he's in. Just how thick are you, Natsu?!"

"Shut up, Perv! Are you allergic to clothes, or something?"

"Make it stop" Ichigo moaned. His ears were paining at the yelling.

"Good. So you can speak" Ichigo's eyes fluttered open. He was lying down on a pretty comfortable bed. He got up, and faced a dozen people. Each and every one of them looked so odd. For starters, there was a blue flying cat. Ichigo frowned at the person who had spoken to him, a man about half of Rukia's height.

"Am I dead?"

The man snorted. "Far from it. You're alive, but barely. If it weren't for Wendy here, you'd be dead" The man gestured to a petite blue haired girl, who also seemed to be accompanied by a flying cat. She looked at him shyly. She appeared oddly familiar. Ichigo had a lot of questions, however the first thing that came to mind was

"I've never seen a flying cat before!"

"It's because we're so awesome, that you barely see us!" The cat answered.

"You can talk too?" He looked back at the short old man. "You sure I'm not dead?"

"I'm sure" promised the boy.

"Um. Mister, if you don't mind, can you tell us what you were doing in the sky? You were letting out so much magical energy..."

"Magical energy? You mean Reiatsu?"

Everybody around him frowned.

"You mean this?" He said, and allowed the little Reiatsu he had out, imitating the technique that Zaraki usually displayed. Everyone around him nodded, although it barely affected them anymore.

"Sorry. I can't control that when I'm..." his voice trailed off. He was about to say 'When I'm fighting' but for some reason, it appeared to be a delicate. He saw that everyone was waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"So um...Do you mind telling me where exactly the hell I am?"

"You're in Magnolia! If you want more specifics, you're in Fairy Tail!"

"What's that?" said Ichigo, searching the room for Zangetsu. It was propped on a table at the far end of the room. He heard someone spit something. He turned to look at a woman drinking alcohol straight out of the barrel.

"He's joking right? He hasn't heard of us?"

"Damn it, Cana! You mind aiming before you spit out booze?"

"Why would I bother aiming my spit, Gray?" She snarled at a half naked boy. He smacked a pink haired boy in the face when he heard the boy laugh. They both stared daggers at each other.

"We're a guild! In fact, we're the strongest guild in the country!"

"You guys?" asked Ichigo, not all too impressed at the group of people.

"Yep! We're a family. Our very purpose is to nurture friendship and keep looking forward!"

Ichigo rubbed the back of his head. These clichéd dialogues hurt his already throbbing head.

"You shouldn't move around a lot. You've still not recovered fully!" the blue haired girl said.

"You still haven't told us what you were doing up there!" A blonde girl stepped in and asked him. Ichigo frowned. Despite the stereotype, this girl didn't seem dumb at first glance.

"I'd tell you if I knew. Truth is, I have no idea how I got there, nor do I know of a place called Magnolia. I'm from Karakura town...You people heard of it?"

They all shook their heads.

"Thought so"

"Except you've come from a town! We're the strongest guild in Fiore! How can you NOT know us?"

"Simple, ain't it? I'm not from here. I have no idea how I got here, and I've never heard of a place of Fiore"

"When you say 'You're not from here'. What do you mean?"

"I don't know' Ichigo frowned. He had a feeling he was going to repeat that sentence quite a lot in the future.

"What's the last thing you remember before falling?"

"Well...I was protecting a friend of mine" said Ichigo. Suddenly, his eyes went wide as he remembered why he had been in Hueco Mundo.

"My sword!" he yelled. "I-I can't stay here! I need to go to Hueco Mundo, I need to save Orihime! I-I..."

But Ichigo knew, that right now, there was no way in hell he could fight Aizen. Heck, Ulquiorra had shot a hole through his freaking heart! If it hadn't been for his hollow, he'd be dead.

"You're in no condition to move, nonetheless fight. Saving can wait"

"You don't understand!" growled Ichigo. "She's my friend! I need to protect her!"

"Protecting can wait. Until then, why don't you join us? Fairy tail is all about protecting our comrades!" said the small man, repeating his previous sentence.

"I thought I told you! I can't wait! I have to get out of here!" The people around him were beginning to irritate him.

"You know what? Fine. If you can walk till the end of the door without collapsing, we'll let you go..."

"Fine!" said Ichigo, and got up. The pain was instantaneous. He felt like a spiritual pressure a thousand times that of Kenpachi was fighting him, although he knew there was nothing of that sort. Fatigue was getting to his brain, and it was climbing there fast.

He fell back on the bed. "You win' he grumbled.

"Well then. Now that that's worked out, I insist that you think about our offer. Fairy Tail is a family, a family worth protecting. You never did tell us your name. I'm Makarov, head of Fairy Tail guild"

"My name...is Ichigo Kurosaki. Glad to meet you, Makarov. I'd offer you my hand, but I doubt my body's ready for that"

A burst of laughter was heard from behind him. He frowned and looked at who it was. It was the pink haired boy and his friend, Gray. (The one the girl had spat booze on).

"Natsu! Gray! What're you laughing about!"

"His name...Haha~, his name is Strawberry! Who'd name him that?!"

Ichigo quickly frowned. Stupidity was a disease, and it became contagious when his name was mentioned.

"It means 'One who protects', rosemary!" Ichigo growled at the boy named Natsu. Natsu instantly frowned.

"You wanna go at it, boy?"

"Bring it on!" Ichigo growled, glaring daggers at the pink-haired mage. It took him a moment to remember that the boy would probably pummel him in the state he was in, right now.

The blonde girl slapped her forehead. "As though two of them weren't enough...We've got to put up with three of them, now? I'm Lucy Heartfilia" She said, and held her hand up in a friendly gesture. Each of the people around him introduced themselves to Ichigo.

"So, you're joining Fairy Tail right?" asked Mirajane, the girl who had saved him from falling (All though she looked entirely different now. If someone hadn't told Ichigo she was the person who had flown towards him, he probably would have never known. The only resemblance was the Silvery hair)

"For the time being, yeah" said Ichigo, nodding. He guessed he had to. Despite what Makarov said, he was right. Saving was going to have to wait. He just hoped his friends were safe.

"Well then, where do you want the Guild insignia? Everybody has one!"

"The guild insignia?" Ichigo frowned as Mirajane took out a small stamp.

"People need a way of knowing that you're from Fairy Tail, right? I stamp this into anywhere you want"

"Hm" Ichigo said. He dug around his pants and retrieved his Substitute Soul reaper badge. "You mind putting it here?"

"Not at all!" Mirajane smiled. "What colour do you want it to be in?"

Ichigo thought about it a little, and then smiled a little, for the first time since he had landed here. "Does it come in black?"

* * *

Author Notes: For those of you have read the manga alone...

So yeah, I'm making a few changes here. This is set in the Ulquiorra arc, so Ichigo doesn't really know that he's a Quincy or anything like that. He doesn't know that a technique called the Final Getsuga Tenshou exists or anything of that sort!

And this is set right after the Grand Magic games arc. I'm making a few tweaks to this, though. In this Ichigo is around nineteen years old. It's probably a huge leap, but meh, why not?


	2. Chapter 2

Ichigo was allowed to stay with Gray Fullbuster, as Gray had a spare room in his apartment. Gray had been gracious enough to not make more unpleasant jokes about his name.

Ichigo still lacked the strength to fight, as he could feel almost no spiritual energy in him. This was going to be a problem. Ichigo had felt weak a dozen times before, even when he had been utterly decimated by his opponents, but never to the point where he felt no spiritual energy. He could feel it slowly returning to him, though.

Ichigo awoke the next day to Gray's loud alarm clock. "Morning!" said an enthusiastic mage as he got up and flexed his arms. He rushed into the shower and was out in two minutes, fully clothed. Ichigo just stared at the seventeen year old.

"Do you like, never wear a shirt? And how the hell did you take a bath so fast?"

"It's a bad habit of mine. My teacher taught me to always be accustomed to the cold, no matter what"

"Sounds like a good teacher. You still haven't answered my question" said Ichigo, getting off of his bed and lifting his sword. Gray decided to ignore the second half of the sentence. This was the first time Ichigo ever recalled struggling to pick up his sword, which had returned to its Shikai. Gray noticed Ichigo placed the sword on his back. Meh, that was nothing spectacular. Gray had seen far better-

"WHOA!" Gray yelled, holding out his hands. "WHEN DID YOUR SWORD GROW THAT BIG!?"

"Long story" murmured Ichigo. "Go on. I'll be right there with you"

"You sure? You still don't seem to have recovered"

"I'm sure" insisted Ichigo. "Go. I'll be there in a flash"

"Okay then" said Gray (Who had forgot to put his shirt on), strolled out the door. Ichigo sighed as he went towards the bathroom. Something told him today was going to be a long day...

* * *

Erza slashed at the monster, her sword coated with magic. The monster instantly fell to the ground. Erza smiled and requipped to her regular attire. This monster wouldn't bother the city's folk for a long time now. Her job was over. Honestly, she had expected more from an S-class mission. S-class was supposed to be for the toughest of mages, and yet, she felt like these missions were getting weaker. She didn't like that one bit.

She walked back to town, met the mayor, and graciously accepted the reward (A good five hundred thousand joules!). She walked towards the nearest train station, and sat down at one of the benches, surveying her surroundings. There were so many people here, each living their lives to their fullest. She saw two mages of a guild quarrel over sharing the reward they had just got for their guild (She couldn't see any guild mark on them). She chuckled a little as the elder one gave a rap in the head to his colleague.

"What the hell was that for?"

"For being a dumbass!"

They reminded her of Gray and Natsu. She got off of her seat and stepped into the train that would head her back to Magnolia. She yawned a little and stepped into one of the empty compartments. The horizon was a spectacular shade of orange as she lightly rested her head against the glass window. The day hadn't been unlike this when she had met him. The person who had changed her life.

_You should smile more often! You'd like really beautiful if you did!_, even now, the memory sent heat into her cheeks. She closed her eyes, thinking about all the things she'd do when she got back to the guild. She wondered if she'd meet anyone new when she got there. She had absolutely no idea...

* * *

Ichigo had taken his time getting ready, as it still took him quite a lot of effort to move around. He relaxed a bit in his room, conserving as much of his spiritual energy (Or magic, whatever it was) as possible. It took him quite some time to walk steadily, but he did it eventually.

Ichigo walked into the guild, and was just nearly dodged a chair. He groaned. He couldn't spend time here; he needed to get back to Karakura town as quick as possible. He wanted to meet the master immediately. He needed to confine with someone that he didn't belong here. He walked over to the bar and met that silver haired girl. Mirajane, was it? It was already evening, and yet Fairy Tail was so lively.

Ichigo had taken his time getting ready, as it still took him quite a lot of effort to move around. He relaxed a bit in his room, conserving as much of his spiritual energy (Or magic, whatever it was) as possible.

"I need to talk to the guild master" he grunted as he sat down on one of the bar stools (Beside a heavily drunk Cana). He groaned for a second time as someone crashed beside him. It was that pink haired guy, Natsu.

"Damn it, Gray! I wasn't ready!"

A huge chunk of ice hit Natsu square in the face. Ichigo chuckled a little as the ice slowly melted off the mage.

"I'm gonna kick your pervy-." Another chunk of ice. Ichigo guessed Natsu wasn't the smartest guy in the guild. It was only then did Ichigo notice the fire on the boy's arms.

"What the hell?" he asked Mirajane as Natsu punched Gray in the gut, causing Gray to smash into one of the walls.

"Natsu's a Dragon Slayer! He was thought magic by dragons!"

"Why would it be named Dragon Slaying magic though? I mean, shouldn't it just be called Dragon Magic?"

"Well that's because" Mirajane began, but couldn't find anything valid to say. She just stood there, awkwardly with her mouth open.

"Anyways" said Ichigo, trying to change the topic. "Where is the guild master?"

"The Guild Master's gone to the magic council!"

Great. Another term he didn't understand. Mirajane recognised the look on his face and continued to explain. "The magic council is the ruling body here! Now, our Master is one of the Wizard Saints. This title is given to only a few of the strongest mages out there! When the Magic Council has to discuss something, they usually seek the advice of the Wizard Saints!"

Ichigo groaned for a THIRD time. "So when is Master coming back?"

"We don't know" said Mirajane pleasantly. "You could do one of the jobs while you wait for him"

"I think I'll do that" said Ichigo, slowly walking towards the job board (While constantly trying to dodge over a dozen pieces of furniture and human beings). He surveyed the board. Much to his pleasant surprise, there stood Wendy, the girl who had helped him, along with her flying cat. She noticed him and put on a bright smile.

"You seem to have recovered well!" she said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, thanks for that!"

"I didn't expect you to walk until maybe a week!" Ichigo squinted his eyes at the petite girl in front of him.

"That's what you mean by 'recovered well'? Walking is a recovery?"

"Y-yes. The state you were in, this truly is a big feat" she said, her voice getting a little softer, that childhood embarrassment written on her face. Ichigo thought maybe he had been a little rude. The cat scowling at him was surely a hint.

"So, you're going on a mission alone?"

"She's not going to be alone" said the cat, still scowling at Ichigo. He'd bet Rukia would love this cat. It looked like something out of her sketches. Wendy however, nodded her head.

"I need to not depend on everybody around me. So I'm picking out an easy job"

"Mind if I join you? I can't spend my whole life in that pervert's house" said Ichigo. Not that he was planning on staying here. No, he planned on getting out of here as quickly as possible. Something told him it wasn't going to be that easy. He didn't know if that was just negative thinking or his hollow. Honestly, he wanted to ignore his hollow for the time being, even if it had just saved his life.

"I-I don't mind!" said Wendy. She reminded Ichigo of his sister, Yuzu for some reason.

"Well then. This one seems fairly simple. Beat the demon at the edge of town. Reward's a hundred thousand joules. How much is that?" Ichigo inquired.

"That would probably be enough to rent a house near the guild" said the flying cat.

"I never did catch your name" said Ichigo.

"My name is Charle" she said, and with a tedious _Hmph_ she made her way out the guild, Wendy and Ichigo close on her tail (Quite literally, in fact).

* * *

"This demon is supposed to come out when we go inside the hut. Apparently, he isn't alone. He has two lesser demons accompanying him at all time" Ichigo informed Wendy and Charle as they arrived at the place.

"Okay. So what should we do?" asked Wendy.

"Well, we go inside the hut. The demon comes out, and we defeat him" Wendy sighed exasperatedly. He wasn't so different from Natsu. She thought he'd have a plan.

Ichigo placed a foot inside the hut. His hand reached the hilt of his sword. Oddly enough, nothing seemed to happen. He turned around in time to see the blur of a fist.

The fist crashed into Ichigo's chest. He flew into the hut, his back meeting the wall. He fell to the ground in a heap amidst a cloud of dust. The demon grinned at its quick victory, and looked at its two apprentices. They had done a good job at keeping the little girl quiet (They were literally covering her and her cat's mouth).

The demon's grin widened even more as it saw that its prey was a little girl. It liked watching the fear set into their eyes as it ripped them apart. It walked towards the girl slowly with that bravado one achieves only when he\she has conquered a task once insurmountable.

Of course, the demon hadn't expected the boy to be blocking its path.

"I'm sorry, pal. But I'm not that easy to take DOWN!" Ichigo had already started his run at the last word. The demon couldn't believe what it was seeing. The boy had a huge sword, and yet, his image seemed to flicker. He appeared in one place, disappeared the next instant, and reappeared closer to the demon. It felt the slash of a sword near its left leg.

It growled loudly, its eyes widening even further. The boy hadn't been there a few seconds ago! His movements were so fast, it was hard to keep track. Actually, it was impossible. Even the smaller demons were concerned at the outcome of this fight.

The demon felt a foot strongly submerge itself into its face. The force was greater than anything it had ever felt, and it had fought quite a lot of mages. It didn't even seem like the boy was using magic to fight, rather, his mere physical strength was this much. It crashed through the hut's wall, and fell in a daze inside.

The other demons gulped as the boy approached them. They quickly let go of Wendy and Charle, and ran towards its fallen master.

"Go on then" smiled Ichigo, looking at Wendy's angry expression (It was kind of funny seeing the little girl angry). "Try and take them down"

"From here?"

"Well, if you want, I could bring them here"

"N-no thanks" she said, and focused her gaze on the retreating figures of the two demons hauling their master. Her lips parted a little. Ichigo frowned, as he saw no purpose in what she was doing.

"You might want to step back" suggested Charle. Ichigo complied almost immediately.

A blast of wind sent the blue-haired mage back as she expelled an atrocious amount of magical energy in the form of wind. It spiralled towards the three demons and knocked them into the sky until they were specks. Ichigo just stared in awe at the small girl as she smiled.

"I did it!" she said, raising her right hand in triumph.

"That's some power you've got there" noted Ichigo. His sword wrapped itself in the white cloth as he placed it on his back.

"Thank you!" her smiled seemed to grow more vibrant as she uttered those words. "I was taught by a dragon!"

"You too, huh?" Ichigo sighed. "Hey, why is it called Dragon Slaying Magic if the dragons taught it to you? Shouldn't it be Dragon Magic?"

"It's called Dragon Slaying Magic since this form of magic is the only one that hurts dragons! However..."

"However?"

"A few days ago, at the Grand Magic Games, these dragons attacked us...and...We couldn't fight back. None of us could even defeat the dragons, other than Natsu. And that was only because he had the help of a dragon who knew his father"

"His father? A dragon?"

"Yes. We were all brought up by our dragons, so in a way, they're our family. What's your family like?"

"What's my family like?" Ichigo withdrew his gaze, thinking about the state his father and sisters would be in, who had no idea whatsoever about the war that was being waged. This only wanted him to get back and have a talk with that guild master about his situation even more. "They're probably worried sick about me"

"I'm sure you'll find your way back!" Wendy said; a serious look well shown on her face. Ichigo knew she believed those words, even if she didn't.

"We should probably be getting back. I can get us there faster, if you like" suggested Ichigo. Wendy nodded.

"You moved so fast back there, when facing that demon. How did you do it?" Charle asked, floating nearby Wendy.

"It's a technique I learned, called Shunpo" Ichigo explained, pulling out his blade. "It allows me to cover small distances faster" He then proceeded to grasp his bladed hand with his other one.

"Bank-." He stopped midway. He felt a sudden pain in his chest, like someone was drilling a nail into it. He dropped his sword and instantly fell to the ground on all fours, coughing and gasping for breath. He tore at the fabric of his Bankai top in desperation, trying to inhale. He couldn't breathe properly. He crumpled to the floor and curled himself into a ball, sucking in as much air as he could.

Ichigo felt it wasn't going to be enough.

* * *

Wendy instantly began her work, getting down on her knees and holding out her hands and doing her best to heal the man. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong with him, but it was the repercussion of some previous injury, obviously magical in nature. A normal stab wouldn't have aftermaths as painful as this.

But for something like this to have happened to him, Ichigo should have withstood an attack that would have probably drilled a hole through his chest. Wendy closed her eyes and focused her magic to seep into Ichigo, trying to dull the pain, as that was all she could do for the time being. To get through this wound, you needed willpower, and Ichigo didn't seem to have a lot at the moment.

She couldn't fathom what type of magic could have everlasting effects on him, but right now, she didn't care. Ichigo's squirming had stopped; his fingers had dug deep into the soil of the path they were currently in. He seemed be somewhere between consciousness and faint. After a few moments he opened his eyes, a look of defeat in his eyes.

"Wh-what happened?" Wendy asked, as she was worried sick of what she had just seen. Ichigo closed his eyes once more, and slowly got up. She could see that it was taking him an effort.

"I was in a fight, yesterday, I guess" Ichigo muttered. "I was saved by someone I didn't really want help from. I was pretty hurt, but that person healed me. I guess he didn't do a great job"

"You shouldn't have come on this mission, I'm very sorry! I didn't know the direness of your condition" said Wendy. Ichigo shook his head.

"No, I definitely needed to be here. I can't stand not doing anything, and if I hadn't come here, that's exactly what I would be doing, sitting in one place and conserving as much of my energy as possible"

Wendy could not process what went through in this boy's mind. His eyes seemed to show a sense of concession, but his actions surely didn't. She guessed Ichigo was the type of guy who would fight to his death, the type that wouldn't care that every breath they took could very well be their last. He reminded her of Natsu, Gray, Erza, Gildarts, and all most everybody who had been there at Tenrou Island.

"We should probably get going" Ichigo said, noting how the colour of the skies was turning orange. "The reward will be with the Guild master when we go home. At least, that's what this flier says"

Ichigo took his sword, and brushed the dust off of the blade. Wendy noticed that he didn't treat his sword like most people did. Nope, he treated it with respect, as though it were a living and breathing person. He cared for it greatly, as one of the first things he had said when he'd gotten up was 'My sword!' She noted how it changed shape.

Slowly, the trio made their way to Fairy Tail.

* * *

The guild erupted into a sea of '_you're back_'s as Erza arrived at the guild. She had been gone for quite a while, as waiting for that monster had been quite a tricky business. It had been worthwhile though, she could finally buy a house outside Fairy Dormitory. She liked that place, but she needed something more she could call her own.

Erza felt the usual pats on the back from a good S-Class job, the usual courtesy conversations that followed. Natsu challenged her to a fight, and was instantly grounded by her foot. Some things never change.

"So what happened while I was away?" Erza asked Mirajane, who greeted her with the exact same reaction as everybody else did.

"The usual. The fights, the usual number of jobs, the empty rival guild threats. However, two interesting things did happen"

"I'm all ears" said Erza, frankly a little bothered with all the noise Fairy Tail was creating. She had come to get used to it, but it still irked her from time to time.

"Well, The Guild Master has gone to a meeting with the Wizard Council. He should be back by now, though. I don't see what the delay is"

"And the second?" Erza inquired. She watched as Mirajane frowned a little. Mirajane rarely did that these days.

"We have a new guild member. He has orange hair, and wields this HUGE black and white sword! It changed forms though. It looked like a katana when he got here"

"What's so interesting about that? It could just be Requip" stated Erza.

"It was how he got here. He came from the sky"

"Huh?"

"He was falling out of the sky, expelling destructive amounts of spiritual energy. It just kept on coming. And he was using it in this bizarre way...It was making it hard to breathe for us. Your knees got all wobbly when he did it. I saved him from falling and he decided to join the Guild. It took him a lot of persuasion, though. He was in a bad condition and needed to get out of here as soon as possible"

Erza raised an eyebrow. This was pretty interesting. She let Mirajane continue. "He hasn't even heard of Fairy Tail! Cana went all crazy when she heard him ask what Fairy Tail was. It was a little funny her reaction" Mirajane grinned ridiculously at the memory. Erza shook her head. Mirajane had a bad habit of spacing out from time to time.

"Anyways, he says he came from a place called Karakura town..." And then suddenly, Erza was lost in thought. Did Mirajane just say...Karakura town? Erza knew of that place. He had said he was from there, after all. Not a day went by when she didn't recall her meeting with him.

"He had orange hair, and seemed our age. He was quite a looker" But Mirajane's words were going to deaf ears. Karakura town. That name was now ringing in her mind. She quickly looked at Mirajane, her eyes burned with a strange curiosity.

"Where is he, now?" she said frantically. Mirajane noticed this and her smile wavered a little.

"He went out with Wendy not a while ago for a mission. They're probably coming ba-." Mirajane cut off, she was staring at the guild door. Her smile went back to its usual glow. "Why, there he is right now"

* * *

The walk had been frustrating to say the least for Ichigo. He felt like he was dead weight, and he hated that feeling. Using his sword like a stick, he supported his weight on it and helped him walk. He was going to hear a load of this from Zangetsu when he went into his inner mind. Ichigo also planned on giving his hollow a good smack in its sorry ass.

"Sorry for this" muttered Ichigo to Wendy, who gleamed up at him.

"Not at all!" she said, and helped him walk into the guild. Ichigo noticed a few things different about the guild, though. It was noisier for one (Ichigo didn't know if he hadn't expected that). There was a woman at the barstool, though. She had beautiful, flowing red hair, and seemed to be clad in an armour and skirt. Mirajane smiled at him, and the girl turned around.

She had brown eyes, both which seemed to widen with shock at the sight of him. Ichigo didn't know if that was good or bad. She slowly raised a hand at him, her index finger pointed at the orange-haired teen. Ichigo didn't notice it, but he was just standing there, completely unable to move. He was staring at her right eye for some reason.

"You!"

Everybody in the guild went silent as they heard Titania utter that word. Their gaze shifted to Ichigo, who seemed to be glued to the spot. Wendy looked at Ichigo.

"You've met Erza..."

"I...No" Ichigo managed. He felt like he was lying. He watched as the woman in question walked towards him at first, her eyes steadily trained on him. She then started running towards him. Ichigo didn't know whether to run (For he was pretty sure she was coming to smack her. He didn't know what made him feel like that, though).

However, the scarlet-haired woman threw herself at Ichigo, wrapping him in a tight embrace. Her combined weight seemed too much for Ichigo to stand, so he fell backwards rather awkwardly. Erza didn't seem to care, her hands tightly wrapped around him.

"You came back" she whispered, her eyes streaming with tears. "You finally came back"

* * *

Author notes: I AM REALLY, REAAAALY SORRY FOR NOT COMING ON SOONER. I finished this chapter way back, but well...yeah, I had exams, so I couldn't really focus on using the computer. BUT THEY'RE OVER NOW, SO SCREW THAT! You can probably expect faster updates now. Reviews would be helpful. I sort of did this chapter in a rush, so forgive me if some of the terms aren't right, and there might be a few contradictory things in this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Erza continued to cry into the boy's chest, with the whole guild looking. But for some reason, she didn't care. The guild was thoroughly shocked. They had seldom seen their S-Class mage cry, and that had been back when she was young and had just joined Fairy Tail.

And yet now, here she was, their Titania, with tears of joy in her chocolate brown eyes, embracing someone the guild had never even heard of before. Surely if he had meant this much to Erza, they would have at least known something about her.

Light glowed around Erza as she equipped into something else. Nobody other than Wendy (Who was standing right next to them, and was just as shocked as the majority of the guild) could see the change. Erza now adorned an eye-patch that covered her right eye.

"I've been saving this for a long time" She said, her voice soft and quiet, as she slowly looked at her long-lost stranger. A stranger who had moulded all most everything she had ever done.

"Would you mind getting off?" the boy grunted. Erza was surprised at what he had asked, and then noticed he was under a considerable amount of pain. She quickly got to her feet and helped him to his feet. Wendy handed him his sword, which the boy graciously accepted.

"I-I'm sorry" said Erza, her face slightly flushed at the realisation of what she had done. The boy didn't say anything; he just stared at her with curiosity. Words were already being exchanged by the guild members of Fairy Tail in hushed tones

"Erza knows this guy?"

"Look at his sword!"

"Why did he lie about never being here?"

"You think it might glow?"

"Of course not, you dolt! It's obvious it can erupt into flames!"

Ichigo's brain seemed to have turned to mush as he stared at this girl, whose name he had just learnt. She talked like she knew him well, when in reality, Ichigo had never even seen her.

_No, _thought Ichigo. He definitely knew this girl. He had no idea how or when, but there was something about her. It would be impossible to forget that scarlet hair. Heck that would be like forgetting Zaraki was a madman. It would be a crime to forget someone who looked like Erza...so why couldn't he remember? It frustrated him, but he kept staring at her.

"Do you...remember me?" she asked, her voice filled with hope. He wanted to say 'yes' as he recognised the emotion in her voice. He had felt the same way when Rukia had assured him that he could save his family. So fragile. So desperate. He decided to remain silent.

Thankfully for him, Wendy decided to interject "I'm sorry Erza, but he's heavily injured. I'd be surprised if he remembered his own name" It was obviously not the case, but he gave a silent thankful look at Wendy, who answered with a slight nod. He guessed she got this sort of stuff well.

Erza's eyes widened. Concern won over curiosity. She spoke in a rapid tone. "You should sit down. I'm so sorry I knocked you down, it must be really painful. Why hasn't Wendy healed you already? I haven't heard of a wound Wendy can't cure"

"It's not exactly a wound" muttered Wendy, watching as Ichigo sat down on a bench near Lucy. The guild went back to its hustle like nothing had happened. "Ichigo has a...well, I'm not sure what. There's something suppressing his magical energy"

"Ichigo" Erza said the word, playing with its syllables. She had wanted to know that name for a long, long time. This was probably one of the most awkward moments in Ichigo's life, topping seeing a cat turn into a naked woman (Honestly, he had not expected that one). How often did a stranger hug you and ask you if you remember them? For now, he stayed quiet.

The guild master arrived the moment Erza opened her mouth to repeat her question. Ichigo thanked the gods for that. It would save him the humiliation of saying he didn't remember her, plus he'd finally have someone to talk to. There was something nice about the guild master, Makarov was it?

The guild went silent when they noticed the look on Makarov's eyes. He didn't look happy at all. He silently walked up to the room the Guild Master used in the guild headquarters, and slammed the door shut.

"I've never seen him that angry" muttered Wendy. "It seems worse than how he was when Acnologia hit us"

"Acnologia?" Ichigo asked, curious. It was good that Erza had turned her attention away from him; her brown eyes seemed to pierce him.

"The black dragon. It could blast out an Island with just a roar"

Ichigo's eyebrow rose a little. He had heard of pretty impressive stuff, but this one had to top that. For about a minute, nobody moved.

"I need to talk with the master" Ichigo said, walking towards the room. His knees were awfully shaky, but he didn't care. He NEEDED to get out of here, no matter what. His path was blocked by a tall yellow-haired man, who had a nasty scar running down one of his eyes.

"Get out of my way" Ichigo growled, glaring at his obstacle.

"No can do. Gramps doesn't like company when he's pissed"

"I need answers, and your 'gramps' seems like the only one who has a clue about what I'm talking about. So I'd appreciate it if you moved" The last word was particularly loud. Everybody stared in shock at the orange haired teenager argued with one of the strongest people in their guild.

"Don't talk to people you can't beat like that, boy" ordered Laxus (For it was the lightning dragon slayer).

"Yeah? And what's to stop me from kicking your ass?"

"Heh, with that little magical energy, I'd be surprised if you could beat pipsqueak over here" He motioned towards Natsu, whose fists instantly went ablaze.

"What did you say?!" He demanded, standing right next to Ichigo, a similar glare on his face. But Laxus knew Natsu well enough and actually cared for Natsu as to not insult him further. He did not, however, care for Ichigo.

"You're new here. I suggest you shut up and practise. The moment you beat me will be the moment you earn my respect. Something tells me you're never going to earn that" and with that, he walked away, making sure to shove past Ichigo's shoulder as he did.

"Who the hell is that guy?" Ichigo asked.

"Laxus. Old man's grandson" said Natsu, watching as Laxus' form grew smaller.

"Is he always a prick?"

"Nope. In fact, he never is nowadays. Don't know what's gotten into him today" muttered Natsu. He then looked at Ichigo.

"So you know Er-."

Once again, he was saved as the door to Makarov's room swung open, crashing against the wall in a massive thud. His eyes were fixed on Ichigo.

"You" He motioned for Ichigo to step inside. Ichigo complied, walking as fast his body would allow. Much to Ichigo's distaste, Makarov asked for Erza to come as well. Erza, along with Natsu, Gray, Wendy and Lucy. Ichigo quickly found a seat and slumped into it. He hated feeling weak, more than anything else.

Makarov stood at one end of the room, looking out the window in the typical clichéd over-used manner used in the bad T.V movies Ichigo used to watch. He wondered if there was any T.V here at all.

"Why did you call me?" Ichigo asked, beating around the bush wasn't something he did.

"A matter has come to the interest of the magic council. The magic council has...scouts. One of them found this" Makarov dug his coat and found something. A photograph. He silently handed it to the nearest person (Gray). "The scout made it back in time. However...he died the moment he reached the magic council"

Gray's eyes widened as he stared at the image in front of him. He handed it to Natsu, and frowned at Makarov.

"Master. This thing..."

"This thing didn't have magical energy at all. And yet, the scout couldn't even stand while within a hundred metre range from the thing. Very similar to what you displayed when you came here"

Ichigo was surprised, but did well to cover it. He could understand someone letting loose a torrent of this 'magical energy', but to use it in the same way that Shinigami did? That was out of the ordinary. It seemed like everybody was taking turns looking at the photos, which meant he was last. He sighed internally.

"Okay, so it can do that. So what?"

"The scout-."

"Oi, Master! Did the scout find the photograph or the actual thing?" asked a very confused Natsu. Ichigo wanted to bang his head against the wall. But apparently, this kid made up for his brains with brawn. Obviously he had seen the picture.

"He found the photo. He did not see the actual thing, or know who took the picture, but he felt the magical energy. It was enough to scare him to death" Ichigo was slightly taken aback by that, as he was sure the scout would have seen that thing, whatever the hell it was.

It was now Erza's turn, who just studied the picture with eyes that did not betray her thoughts. It was funny how she was crying about just two minutes ago. She then finally passed the picture to Ichigo, who nearly snatched the picture.

The being in the picture was familiar. It was humanoid, had skin as white as the moon. Where eyes should have been, narrow slits took their place. It had flowing yellow hair, falling down till its waist. It also had claws as big as knives.

"A Vasto Lorde" muttered Ichigo. He remembered learning about the classifications of hollows, but couldn't quite remember where. He looked at the Guild Master. "If this is what I think it is, we have no chance"

The master frowned at him. "We have no chance?"

"I don't have the power to even scratch a Vasto Lorde, let alone beat one. We don't have a chance" repeated Ichigo. "And from what I've gathered about you guys, neither can you"

"Are you calling us weak?"

Ichigo shook his head. "You guys are far from weak. It's just a Vasto Lorde is way too strong"

"Hey pal, from what we've gathered, you're not that strong either" growled Natsu, his eyes having an anger Ichigo didn't think the boy could possibly possess.

"I never said I was" said Ichigo. Maybe if he had come here a different time, he would have made a crude remark. Heck, he wouldn't have even accepted that a Vasto Lorde was unbeatable. But from what he knew, he hadn't even defeated Ulquiorra. There was no way a Vasto Lorde was going to be killable. It also confused him as to how there was a Vasto Lorde here, in a place where he hadn't even seen a single plus.

"Look, I need to talk to you about something" Ichigo's words were directed to the Guild Master. "Only you. I think you can actually help me shed some light on the situation I'm in"

Makarov looked like he wanted to argue about it, but rather told everyone to leave. Everyone but Erza did, and Makarov did not seem to have a problem about that. This just made Ichigo's life a hella lot more awkward. Lucy and Gray and had to pull Natsu to get him out of the room.

As soon as everybody went outside, Makarov propped himself on a chair. "What is it?"

"Uh...Shouldn't she not be here as well?"

"Let her stay. I have news I need to tell her as well"

"Fine. I'm going to cut straight to the chase. I'm not from here, and I know you know that. That thing in the picture? It isn't from here either. I don't belong here, and I need to get back to where I was"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not from here. I've never heard of this Magnolia place, and I've never heard anyone else talking about either! If this place existed, I would have seen it somewhere on the world map, but I haven't!" Ichigo was getting more frustrated by the second.

"What are you talking about? Of course you've heard of Magnolia! It's the-."

"I know. It's probably the most _famous city in this kingdom,_ isn't it? But guess what? I-haven't-heard-of-it! And you know what? When I tell you my story, you probably aren't going to believe me either! I'm a Shinigami! From where I'm from, Shinigami are beings who maintain the balance of the living world! You see this?" He gestured to his back. "That's a Zanpaktou! But obviously you have no idea what that means right?!"

Ichigo's right hand rushed to his forehead. He was completely and utterly pissed. He felt so helpless here, so useless. His friends were probably dying; his family was probably already dead. And look at what he had here? Nothing but a bunch of hyper-active people who believed in petty things like 'family' and 'friendship'. Goddamn it! Damn it all!

"Zanpaktou? What is that?"

"It's my sword" Ichigo stated the obvious. "It's what Shinigami use to purify Hollows, or perform Konso. But you obviously don't know what Konso or Hollow means, so I could be talking to the goddamn wall and it wouldn't change the reaction I got"

He half expected the Guild Master to punch him in the face for being so disrespectful. Makarov didn't say a word. He merely stared at Ichigo, as though he understood what Ichigo was going through.

As if!

"This is so confusing! You know, I've seen a lot of movies, and in those, my situation would be considered 'dimensional travelling!'" He made a gesture with his hands. "I never signed up for this! I don't want to be in 'Magnolia!' I don't want to be a part of 'Fairy Tail'. Everybody I know is dying, and I'm here, getting beaten down by trash!"

He turned towards Erza. "Look, I'm really sorry, but I don't know who you are. You've probably mistaken me for someone else" He tried to make his voice sound as soft as possible to convey the news to her. He knew that whoever she must have met probably meant a lot to her, but he wasn't that person. There was no way he could have met her...right?

Erza did not seem convinced. She didn't even show any sign of hearing his words, although his words had been directed to her and that she was looking straight at the Shinigami. He turned back to Makarov.

"Do you by any chance...know if I can get out of here? I can't stay here"

"Dimensional travel, you say...?" said Makarov, his eyebrow slightly raised. "I think I might know someone who can shed light on this situation. I can probably convince her to meet you by tomorrow. Until then, you're going to have to stay with Gr-."

"I'll take him, Master. The house I bought is big enough for the two of us. I can cramp some of my armours into another room" said Erza, taking both Ichigo and Makarov by surprise.

"You're moving out of Fairy Hills?" asked Makarov. Erza nodded.

"Yes. I've already bought the house; surely I can accommodate him as well"

"Whoa, don't you have some sort of rule? Girls and boys can't live together!" Ichigo protested, his face turning the colour of Erza's hair. Despite everything he had gone through, Makarov chuckled. The fact that he hadn't beaten Ichigo up for being so disrespectful still surprised Ichigo.

"There is nothing wrong in it, Ichigo. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

Ichigo would have liked to say a thousand things, but instead shut up. Makarov addressed Erza.

"Gray and Natsu have fought again...There's a job that requests for both of them. Get your team together and leave by tomorrow"

"From what I heard in the guild, they don't seem to be wanting to go on a mission together"

"You don't understand. This mission was requested by Walrot Seeken, one of the four gods of Ishgal"

Erza's eyes widened with surprise. "Why is he requesting Natsu and Gray?! Something of such prime importance should be handled by someone like Laxus"

"That is why I want you and your team to go there at once. It is probably of much importance, and though Natsu and Gray are powerful, they are not capable of being disciplined"

"I understand. I will leave at once" and with that, she left the room, wordlessly asking for Ichigo to do the same. Ichigo did so with haste. He might have apologized to Makarov for his outburst, but right now, he was too angry and confused to even try and argue. He followed Erza into a now empty Fairy Tail, save Wendy, Lucy, Gray and Natsu. The latter two still arguing with each other.

"Hand this to him" Erza told Lucy, shortly after beating the two. Lucy let out an exasperated sigh, but complied said she would. She raised her eyebrow at the boy.

"Is he going with you?"

"Yes. Get to the train-station tomorrow morning. We leave tomorrow" she said. Ichigo followed her, rubbing his chest slightly. There was still a bothersome pain, no doubt left by Ulquiorra. He didn't know how the Espada had managed it, but he had. Hell, he didn't even know if it was intentional.

"Uh, look" Ichigo said, as he followed the armour clad mage. "Are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else? I've never been here bef-."

"You talked about your mother" said Erza, continuing her pace without even a glance back. Ichigo stopped in his tracks.

"My mother?"

"Yes" said Erza, finally turning around to look at him. "You said she was the most beautiful woman you had ever seen and that a life without her would be dull and boring"

"I...said that?" The pain on his chest was increasing a little. However, right now, he doubted if it had anything to do with the wound. His heart was beating rapidly.

"Yes. I can see why you would want to head back to your time. You seemed very close to your mother"

"My mother's dead" Ichigo said bluntly. Erza did not show any change in expression. He was having a hard time believing this was the woman who had been so vulnerable not long ago.

"I am sorry" her face didn't really look like she was sorry. And yet, he liked the fact that there was no pity in her eyes. She turned her back to him and continued walking, until she reached the house. It was far bigger than he had suspected, and not too far away from the guild. Ichigo already memorised the route.

The inside was very spacious, with multiple rooms on the ground floor. Each room housed dozens of armours.

"The spare bedroom is upstairs" said Erza. "It might be stuffed with armours, but I'll fix that by tomorrow"

"I don't understand" mumbled Ichigo. "Why did you agree to share this room with me?"

"Because you've met me. And you will remember me. I guarantee it. Good night, Ichigo" she said, and walked up the stairway to a room opposite Ichigo's. Ichigo entered his room (Which had about three armours only), and propped himself on the bed. He laid Zangetsu on the table beside the bed, and slowly drifted to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Erza made her way to the train station early that morning. After a few boring hours, she finally saw all of them. They boarded the train (much to Natsu's constant whining). Gray seemed to be having a keen eye on her for some unfathomable reason, but she decided to ignore it until the train set in motion, which was just two minutes later.

Conveniently, Gray sat next to her. He waited until everyone else was busy till he asked the question. "That guy...Ichigo...you sensed it too, right?"

Erza gave a small nod. She knew what he was talking about. "Yes, I did. We'll discuss this later". Gray mirrored her action, and eased himself on the seat.

"So...how do you know this guy?"

"Long story" said Erza.

"We've got plenty of time"

"Until he remembers himself, I'm not going to tell anyone..."

"Why though? You can trust us"

Erza shook her head. "It's not about trust. It's...weird, thinking that you knew someone and they have no recollection of who you are"

"At least tell me where you met him, though?" Gray asked. Erza shook her head again.

"You can't consider it a proper 'meeting'. I met him when I was around eleven. He was around my age. That's all I'm willing to tell you...It has nothing to do with trust, it's just one of those things I need privacy with"

Gray nodded and looked out the sky. "You sure it was a good idea to not tell him and come?"

"I left a note" said Erza, to which Gray chuckled.

"What did you guys have? A one night stand? You don't 'leave a no-." He cut himself when he noticed the glare Erza was giving him. He quickly shut up, as he did NOT want a punch in the face. He frowned as his thoughts went towards the newest member of Fairy Tail...There was too much mystery around him. And if he could make someone as strong as Erza get so emotional, he must be one hell of a guy.

* * *

Aforementioned 'One hell of a guy', was pissed. He had awoken to a brutal chest pain which he somehow managed to subdue. The lesser he thought about it, the lesser it hurt. He didn't want that was, but it was a really irritating problem. If he had an episode like that when he was in battle...

What irked him most was what these people had inside them. He hadn't noticed it at first, but now that he observed it closely, what they had wasn't Reishi. This seemed too...animalistic. It almost felt like the same thing, except Ichigo was sure it wasn't.

Reishi was the main component of souls, everything had Reishi. At least, that's what he'd been told up until now. Heck, he couldn't feel anything in himself...

He got up and found a small note rested neatly on the desk. It read:

**I am going on a job. Will take a while. Food is in the fridge. Spare key below the mattress.**

**Erza.**

Erza. That word confused him more than anything about this place. He closed his head, and tried to remember. Remember anything involving scarlet hair. For a second, something flashed in his mind. He was walking, fields surrounding the path he was taking.

Ichigo nearly lost his footing at the sudden recollection, gripping the edge of the table as support.

_What was that?_, he thought. He closed his eyes, trying to remember what he'd just thought about. The harder he tried, the more it was fading away. He felt as if he was in the middle of an ocean, and the thought was drifting away from him like a boat. The more he tried, the harder it seemed.

"Goddamn it" He muttered, and quickly got ready to head straight for Fairy Tail. The walk wasn't far, thank god. The Master had told him that he'd introduce him to someone who could possibly shed some light on Ichigo's situation, so he figured the sooner the better.

Much to his convenience, the Master was waiting outside the guild.

"Greetings" said Makarov in a strangely drunk manner. Who drank at the start of the day?

"You said you'd-" began Ichigo.

"Yes, I know. I wouldn't be outside if it weren't for that" said Makarov, and lead the way. Ichigo kept up with the master's pace.

"So Fairy Tail...When was it created?" asked Ichigo, trying to make conversation. Something he didn't normally do, but he was still curious.

"A while back" answered Makarov. "It was created by our First Guild Master, Mavis Vermillion. Her island is where we hosted the S-Class promotions last time. What about you? You never really did explain yourself to me"

"You wouldn't believe me if I did" muttered Ichigo.

"Your magical pressure was enough to attract the whole city. Up until now, I didn't think any human could do that. At this point, I would believe you even if you said you could see ghosts"

"That's...kind of what I do"

"Pardon?"

"I'm a Shinigami. I can see souls of the dead. It's my duty to make sure that souls pass themselves over to the Soul Society, basically what many people believe to be 'heaven'. The Soul Society has a court guard of thirteen squads, each with a different function to perform in Soul Society"

Makarov was pretty astonished. Mixed with his drunken state, he made quite a hilarious expression which would have made anyone laugh their guts out.

"Told you, you wouldn't believe me" said Ichigo, to which Makarov had no answer. He simply walked in silence, as though digesting what he had just heard. This beat a lot of lies he had heard. And yet, it sounded too natural to be a lie. This was either the truth, or a well rehearsed lie.

They walked until they reached the outskirts of Magnolia, where Makarov proceeded to walk into a forest.

"Where are we headed, old man?" Ichigo asked, as they headed down a pathway. He resorted to calling the master the same way he called his Zanpaktou.

"I told you, we're going to someone who can possibly help you"

"I know that much. I mean, who? Is it a Shinigami? Because I don't have high hopes on a mage teaching me anything about this"

"On the contrary. I would not consider her a mage. Heck, calling her a human being would be a crime"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "I take it when I meet this mystery person, I'll understand your words?"

Makarov chuckled. "You're a fast learner"

"So I've been told" muttered Ichigo. They finally arrived at their destination, since Makarov had stopped walking. They were facing a gorgeous tree house, the path they had been taking ended right there. The house had obviously been crafted carefully, as though even the smallest mistake would have been a sin.

Just as Makarov was about to knock, a voice barked from within. "Go away, Makarov"

"I still don't get how she does that" the white haired man mumbled. He scoffed a little and raised his voice. "You might be interested in this"

"And what makes you think that?!"

"Open the door and we'll talk"

"Not a chance!"

"Uh...is she always like this?" asked Ichigo.

"Pretty much" nodded the guild master.

Brilliant. The only person who could help him, hated socialising. And that truly sucked. Just as Makarov was about to knock again, the door opened. Ichigo was now looking at a woman with pink hair, tied in a bun with a little draping down the sides of her forehead. She was old, probably as old as Makarov. She wore a crimson cape, which seemed to cover a green blouse within.

"If you promise to be gone in about five minutes, I'll let you in" She didn't look happy. Heck, if anything, she looked pissed. As though she had dealt with this a thousand times. Makarov sported a shining grin and proceeded to walk in, silently signalling for Ichigo to follow.

"Come on, Porlyusica. Loosen up a little"

"No. I most certainly will NOT 'loosen up a little'. You should really stop bringing me 'guests'. The last one has caused a lot of havoc, although she has brought fame to your guild"

Makarov chuckled. Good god, he chuckled a lot. "I take it you mean Erza?"

There that name was again. Erza. Just how much had she contributed to this place? Why could he not remember her? He didn't try and remember the short memory he'd somehow foresaw. He didn't want to risk losing it. He wanted to remember the scarlet haired woman, who to him was nothing but mystery.

"Of course I meant Erza!" The woman named Porlyusica spat. "Or are you telling me that you've told other people to come here?"

"Why on earth would I think that?"

"How would I know? You humans are so stupid, it sickens me"

"Well then, you might be interested in this young lad"

"Humans, mages, Treasure Hunters, those folk from Edolas, Shinigami, they're all the same. Stupid and ignorant"

Ichigo giggled (Yes, giggled) at how she insulted the numerous amounts of people that lived in this place. Wait...

"Shinigami?!" Ichigo said, way louder than he had intended to. "You know what I am?"

"Well, you surely don't have magical energy in you. So obviously you're a Shinigami. And I can sense a little of your Rei"

"Great. Now that both of you have actually spoken, how about you introduce yourselves?"

"Forget it, Makarov. I'm not helping him"

"Wait till you hear what I have to say" Ichigo said, desperation clung to his words. "You'll definitely change your mind"

"No, I don't think I will" Porlyusica fidgeted with some sort of cup, filled to the brim with some type of unknown liquid. Ichigo clenched his fist.

"Give me a goddamn chance!" Makarov's and Porlyusica's expressions turned grave. A sudden force was pushing them to the ground with enormous force. Makarov recognised it, as this was the same thing the Ichigo had done when he first entered here. Porlyusica clenched the end of the table to keep herself from falling.

It died out in ten seconds, but it had lasted long enough for it to create an impression. Ichigo was suddenly out of breath. He had no idea how he'd triggered that. He had no intention of apologizing though. Porlyusica's eyes trained themselves on Ichigo's eyes. Brown eyes filled with determination.

"You're going to tell me what you know, or I break this house down" Ichigo's voice dangerously low.

"What? No! Ichigo, think of what you've just said" Makarov tried. He was still a little queasy.

"Stay out of this, Makarov. He's right. He has a right to know. I'd much prefer it if I told this to him privately" Makarov had never heard anything resembling fear in his old friend's (Well, if you could consider them friends) voice. Ever. So when he heard it, he knew better than to object. He silently made his way out of his the house.

Porlyusica dragged a stool in front of Ichigo and sat down, continuing to study him. She suddenly had an interest in his chest.

"Take your shirt off" She ordered.

"What?" Ichigo asked. "Of course I'm not going to do it"

"You have pain in that area. Do you want me to help you or not?"

Ichigo had no idea how she knew about that. Reluctantly, he took off his shirt. Porlyusica's gaze hardened as she stared at his sternum. She studied the place for a good two minutes before telling him to put back his shirt.

"You mind explaining why I'm here? The old man said you could help"

"Yeah, well, I don't take kindly to people threatening to 'break this house down'" the pink haired lady mumbled, turning her back to him and proceeding to drink something from one of the numerous cups she had. God knows what was in em. It smelled repulsive.

"That still stands. Now, listen. I don't know how I came here, but there's a w-."

"Oh, I know. There's a war, waged by former fifth squad captain Sosuke Aizen"

Ichigo's jaw dropped down. "H-how do you...H-how?"

"Close your mouth kid, you look stupid"

"So you're a Shinigami?!" Ichigo asked, jumping out of his seat. Porlyusica frowned disapprovingly.

"Are you dense? The words 'I hate Shinigami' mean anything to you?"

"But...you knew about Aizen..."

"I know about them. I never said I knew Aizen or anyone from your world"

"Then how do you know about him?"

"Well, I know one of your folk. A friend of mine is a Shinigami" The way she said 'friend' did not make it sound like they were friends. People said 'toe-rag' with lesser hate.

"You said you knew nobody from my world?"

"He's not from your world. He was, but he isn't now. He hates life over there, and would do anything to be forgotten"

"I need a name! Where is this person? When can I meet him? How can I go back?"

"Patience, brat" She said. "I do not know where he is, or when he could possibly be back. All I know is his name"

"Then tell it to me!" he demanded.

"His name, is Kenpachi" said Porlyusica. Ichigo's jaw dropped again. It was like someone held a lever and whenever Porlyusica said something, they'd push that lever down and Ichigo's jaw followed.

"Zaraki's here?"

"No, you idiot. 'Kenpachi', is a title. A title used to signify the strongest Shinigami of that age. The one I'm referring to is the fifth. Kenpachi Isomu"

Ichigo frowned. "Isomu? I haven't heard of him"

"He probably likes it that way. Now, let's move on to how you go here" Ichigo sat up straight, rapt in attention. "I'm not going to beat around the bush. I have no idea how you got here, however, I do know why you've been getting this chest pain"

"It's an ancient form of magic. These ones don't really go away easy"

"But this isn't magic. I thought you already knew, I'm not from here"

"Magic and Spiritual Energy aren't all that different. Sure, they're two completely different things, but the way they work is pretty standard. You use Spiritual Energy to channel most of your attacks, while we use Magical Energy"

The similarity ended there, though. One could not compare the particles of one's soul to magical energy. Heck, he wasn't even sure about the parts she were talking about.

"Both of them can be moulded to help the user. However, one cannot perform magic with Spiritual Energy. You cannot perform Bado with Magical Energy"

_Hado_, Ichigo wanted to correct. It took him a lot of willpower to shut up. Shinigami didn't 'mould' Spiritual Energy; they used it as fuel for the techniques.

"What you have, is a form of magic called blocking magic. Whatever it's equivalent in your world, I do not know. What this does, is it traps a bit of the enemy's energy into one part of your body, which must have been pretty vulnerable"

Having a hole through one's chest could be a pretty vulnerable thing.

"Well, the technique sticks a bit of magic in that place, and whenever triggered, will cause incredible amounts of pain. It depends on where the ache is, though. If it were in your knee, it would cause a painful sprain. If it were in the head, you would feel like your head was going to explode"

"But, in your case, it's in your chest. Which is why this makes the technique is so painful to you. Your chest is not a place you'd want a wound to be. This technique will decimate your heart and lungs each time it starts"

"How am I even alive?"

"I honestly do not know. Most people with this suffer from the first episode. And yet, from what I can see, you've had two"

Ichigo brushed a hand through his hair. He had suffered a mild second one, not anything worth mentioning. It still ached like hell, though.

"Something's healing you at an abnormal rate, one far greater than any healing technique I've ever seen"

"Well then, if it's healing me, shouldn't it get rid of whatever's causing me the pain?"

"Sadly, not. The thing that is healing you heals the technique as well. Your cure is your poison"

"That doesn't make sense"

"Magic seldom does"

"This isn't magic!" Ichigo yelled, clapping his hands to his thighs. "How can I be healed then?"

"Therein lays the difficulty. Techniques like this can't be 'healed'. The pain can be dulled, but it would still be there. No, for something like this, you need to be at a peace of mind. Considering not many have survived this, I cannot tell for sure. But other types of blocking magic are usually cured that way, so I'm going to take a gamble and say this one's the same as well"

"What makes you think I'm not at peace of mind? And how is peace of mind going to stop this technique?"

"Magic is ancient. Nobody knows how it works, or how it came to existence. Only that it has been there since forever, and that it will continue existing"

"So you're telling me, that when I attain this 'peace of mind', this thing is going to go away?"

Porlyusica nodded.

Ichigo sighed. "I think I might have a way of solving that. Thank you...tell me if this Isomu guy comes"

Ichigo was surprised he wasn't desperately searching for this guy. This Kenpachi...Ichigo hoped he wasn't a lot like Zaraki. He guessed he knew searching for this guy was next to impossible, with his sensing powers nearly negated.

He frowned as he walked out the tree house. How had he caused his Reiatsu to flare with Porlyusica and Makarov? For a second, he felt a surge of power. He had no idea how, something he was growing accustomed to here.

He wondered if he should probably head to Erza's house and begin his 'peace of mind' training. Who the hell trained for peace of mind? He looked into the forest, which seemed pretty peaceful. No noise.

He settled below a nice oak tree, and closed his eyes.

* * *

The first thing he noticed was the chain around him, binding him. He was on his knees, and his inner-world. As usual, he was sitting on one of the many skyscrapers, in a gravity-defying manner.

"Zangetsu!" He yelled. "Where are you?!"

He was rewarded with silence. He frowned, and repeated the same thing again. Nothing. He then heard a sinister laugh from above. He received a kick on his back, sending him sprawling down the bottomless skyscraper. He somehow got a hold of himself, and met his hollow's gaze.

"Where is Zangetsu?" he growled.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I AM Zangetsu!" He snarled. His golden eyes gleaming with a lust for battle.

"I'm not kidding, where is Zangetsu?! Why am I tied u-." His hollow's fist connected with Ichigo's face, forcing him even further down. He could taste the blood forming in his mouth, which he spat out.

Ichigo looked over at his hollow, only to look at nothing. His hollow had disappeared as instantly as he had arrived. What the hell was going on?

It was only then, did he hear the snapping of pincers. He turned around, his eyes widening at the horror of what he was seeing. It was a spider, a spider the size of a jeep, fully black and complete with red eyes.

It looked at him, its jaw opening with a hunger. It wanted to devour his bones. Ichigo didn't think twice. He turned back, and ran.

* * *

Author's note: Not gonna lie, I did not like this chapter. It seemed rushed when I did it, and it still seems rushed even after editing. I'll probably be editing this one soon enough. Writing this chapter was pretty much traversing through unknown waters for me, because I-suck-at-terms. So, don't hate me if I get a few of the terms wrong. Tell me in the reviews if I've got them wrong! Thanks for reading! Ya'll rock!


	5. Chapter 5

Ichigo followed the crazy laugh. It wasn't hard, considering he had gotten used to his hollow's sinister habits. He could hear the spider slowly gaining on him. He changed his course, jumping to another building. He was surprised he had made the jump and succeeded, though he had no time to celebrate. The spider spat out a web, and pulled itself towards the building slowly.

_What the hell is that?_, Ichigo thought as he ran closer towards the sound. These chains weren't helping, and it magnified the difficulty that Zangetsu wasn't with him. His hollow seemed to be playing a game of some sort.

"Duck!" Ichigo trusted the voice, and got on his knees as a sword flew above his head, skimming at his hair as it struck the spider in the jaw. It was his hollow, the cloth connected to his hand as he pulled Zangetsu back. "Took you long enough to find me" he laughed.

Ichigo sighed as the spider stopped moving. As soon as the sigh left him, one of the chains broke free.

"Where's Zangetsu?" Ichigo repeated, struggling against his bonds.

"You mean the old man? He's not here. In fact, he's not coming here for a while"

"Mind telling me what the hell that is?" Ichigo said, gesturing to the spider.

"Oh. That. That's the technique that's basically kicking your ass!"

"That's a technique? What the hell is it doing in my mind?"

"Didn't that old lady already tell ya? This technique can only be cured when YOU, have peace of mind. Until that, that thing is going to ravage you like a rapist"

His hollow always did have a way with words.

"It's not dead?"

"Of course it isn't"

"Then kill it!"

"I can't, smartass. You think I wouldn't have if I could?"

"Why not?"

"Because I'-."

"Because it is not his battle. It is yours" Sure enough, Zangetsu stood a few metres ahead of him. His eyes were hard, expression sombre.

"Isn't he a part of me as well, Zangetsu?" Ichigo questioned, keeping his eye closely at the spider. "Him and you"

"That we are, but it is not in our place to fight that. That technique was made for you, and thus can only be abolished by you"

"I can't really fight like this!" Ichigo gestured to the chain. Zangetsu studied the chains curiously.

"You seem to have already broken one. You can probably use your Getsuga Tenshou attack"

"How are these chains restricting you? Why the hell are these things even here?"

"The technique Ulquiorra placed on you. I do not know if it was intentional or not, but it truly is unique. Only when these chains are cut, will you be able to access your Bankai and his help" Zangetsu glanced at his hollow, who was sporting a grin. He snapped his fingers and pointed at the both of them, as if to say 'ehh?'

Ichigo was beginning to wonder if he would ever understand his hollow. "So, this thing doesn't just cause pain, but restricts me?"

"It would appear s-." The spider screeched aloud, charging towards Ichigo. It was silenced immediately by his hollow's sword through the head.

"Hey Zangetsu, do you have any idea how I even got here?" Zangetsu shook his head.

"I do not know the specifics of it. All I know is that it had something to do with him" Zangetsu gestured towards his hollow again, who seemed to be repetitively forcing his sword through the spider.

"What's he trying to do?"

"He's been doing that for quite some time, actually. He is yet to find a way to kill it"

"Uhuh..." Ichigo watched the spider get stabbed through its face a couple more times before turning to Zangetsu. "You mean when he took over control in my fight against Ulquiorra?"

"Yes" said Zangetsu. "It was vague, but evident. When he took over, it started becoming more and more recognisable"

"What about these? How am I supposed to break these if I don't have a sword?"

"You have to overcome your emotions. They are in turmoil, and it doesn't help that that thing is present"

"Yeah, I heard. 'Peace of mind'. How am I supposed to attain that?"

"Erza" said Zangetsu; as if it were obvious the scarlet haired woman was the answer.

"You know about her?"

"Yes. You do not remember, but I do" Ichigo didn't know if his eyes were playing tricks with him, but he could have sworn Zangetsu was smiling a little. His eyes seemed to have softened.

"What're you waiting for, then? Tell me" Ichigo asked.

"Again, it is not in my power to do so. Only when you remember will those chains break"

"Why is everything so complicated?" Ichigo sighed, stamping his foot, causing a mild crack on the building he stood upon. "Why can't you just tell me?"

"Oh, I can. You see" and then Zangetsu's voice went mute, his mouth still moving. Ichigo felt a wave of nostalgia. This was exactly how it had been when Ichigo had first asked Zangetsu for his name, and yet, couldn't hear it.

"Fine, I get it" mumbled Ichigo. "_I'm not ready yet_"

"It appears so. I suggest you start trying to attain this 'peace of mind'"

"How do you think I can do that?"

"By venturing down, of course. Where do you think the spider came from?"

"So there's an end?" Ichigo asked, staring down into the dark recesses of his inner world.

"You will have to fall a long way. Only do so when you are sure you have a lot of time to do it. Now is not the time. For now, you must make do with the Getsuga Tenshou. Good luck, Ichigo"

"But I have time now" Ichigo began as Zangetsu edged closer.

"Not enough. Go back to the guild and do whatever it is they're doing" said Zangetsu, dismissing the thought of trying to heal himself.

"What about everyone else?" Ichigo said, as Zangetsu placed his index and middle finger on Ichigo's forehead. "I have to go back!"

"You seem to underestimate your allies greatly. They will handle Aizen for the time being, do not worry. The thirteen court guard squads are not weak. They will overcome Aizen, though I feel Aizen is not that big a threat compared to what is about to come"

"WH-what? What do you mean?" were Ichigo's last words before he disappeared. The hollow eyed Zangetsu, for once, a serious expression on his face.

"So he's coming back after all" He muttered. "How do I know who he is, though?"

"A part of him is within us. So it is only natural you know"

The hollow nodded. "Oh well. Ichigo better be ready for that guy when he comes. Until then, he better kick some mage ass!"

* * *

Ichigo's eyelids fluttered open, taking in his surroundings. He was just where he had stopped, though it looked like an hour had passed. He massaged his stiff neck, and rose to his feet, propping Zangetsu on his back.

"Guess I should probably go back to the guild" said Ichigo. In ten seconds, he found himself in front of the guild. His flash step was getting better. The guild was empty, surprisingly so. Though he could hear a lot of commotion coming from behind the guild.

So he ventured back, and much to his surprise, found a small arena-like structure. Out in the arena, were two mages battling. They didn't seem to be using magic. It was Elfman versus that Iron Dragon Slayer. Ichigo had never really remembered his name.

"Ichigo" the familiar voice of the Guild Master spoke from behind him in the stands. "I take it you didn't put down Porlyusica's house?"

Ichigo scratched his head at that, laughing nervously. "Yeah...I didn't really mean that" Makarov broke into a grin.

"Of course you didn't, boy! Now, would you like to enter?"

"Uh, no thanks. I'd rather just stay he-."

"That's the spirit! Oi Gajeel, we have a new participator" Makarov hit Ichigo hard on the back, forcing him to stagger onto the arena. Gajeel cast him a sideway glance before yelling;

"After I beat this grunt!"

"Don't count me down yet, man!" said Elfman, punching Gajeel on the nose, nearly sending him out the arena. Ichigo walked back to Makarov, his eyebrows twitching. He wasn't bad at hand-to-hand combat; Yoruichi had thought him a few things. But considering he wouldn't have to use any techniques, he didn't hold his chances high.

Makarov observed Ichigo carefully and suddenly broke out laughing. Ichigo shot him a questioning look.

"Oh, you just remind me a lot of Erza. She wears her armour all the time, while you refuse to put down your sword"

Ichigo would have probably explained to Makarov that his sword was actually a part of his soul, but didn't really feel like getting down to the details at the moment. He frowned at his statement though.

"Why does Erza wear armour, though?" he asked.

"You really do not remember her, do you?"

Ichigo avoided Makarov's gaze, which appeared almost blameful to him. As though Makarov was slightly angry at Ichigo for not remembering Erza.

"I've honestly never been here, old man. For all I know, she could have mistaken me for someone else"

"But Erza isn't like that. You see, if Erza truly cared about someone, she would note a lot of things about that person. There is no way someone who values protecting her guild and comrades as much as our Titania"

"Titania?"

"Oh yes. The Queen of Fairies. She is the strongest female member of the guild, so naturally she was awarded with that title"

"So who's the king?"

"The king? Why, it depends on what you mean" said Makarov. "If you mean the strongest, his name would be Gildarts. If you mean the strongest person who actually stays here for a while, it would either be Natsu or Laxus. Though I'd lean towards Laxus"

"Laxus" Ichigo said, recounting his eventful meeting with the blonde haired elder boy.

"Oh, look! Elfman's down! You're up, Ichigo!" said Makarov, immediately shooing the boy into the arena. Ichigo watched as Elfman was carried off-stage by a few others (The burly man kept saying 'man' in his sleep for reasons Ichigo wasn't too sure on).

Gajeel didn't look too good. His face was bruised and his nose was bleeding like a faucet. It was a wonder he could grin.

"You sure you can fight with that?" Ichigo asked, to which Gajeel spat (what seemed to be blood) onto his side.

"Damn right I will strawberry! Now then, show me what you got" Ichigo was already disliking this guy. He really hated it when people misinterpreted his name. Gajeel rushed to him, his fist balled. He aimed a punch at Ichigo, launching himself slightly into the air.

Ichigo was gobsmacked. He could not comprehend why Gajeel's movements appeared so..._slow._ It was like in the movies, where everything would happen in slow motion. Gajeel was so full of openings.

Ichigo, almost lazily, side stepped to the right and clenched his fist. Gajeel didn't miss a beat, stretching his clenched fist and regaining his footing. He rushed at Ichigo again, a little faster. That wasn't saying much, considering Ichigo had faced foes with far greater speed.

He ducked as Gajeel's fist flew above him, clenched his fist and buried it into Gajeel's jaw. The surprised Iron Dragon Slayer had not been hit by something that hard in a while. Gajeel soared a good ten feet into the air before falling in a clumsy heap.

He got up quickly though, adjusting his jaw carefully. This guy could pack quite a punch.

"I told you. Maybe later"

"Like hell!" Gajeel wasn't the smartest of mages, Ichigo would give him that. He attempted the same thing, putting all of his attention into how hard the blow would hit rather than covering up all his openings. Ichigo decided he'd try something different. He had been pathetic ever since he had joined the guild, barely using his full potential.

A lot of people even considered him weak. Out of the corner of his eye, he could notice Laxus, staring intently at the match.

_The moment you beat me will be the moment you earn my respect._

It was time for that! Ichigo's fist connected with Gajeel's. Ichigo buried his foot into the ground, causing the floor to crack a little. A small grin played on his face. He could see the pain in Gajeel's eyes, no matter how hard the raven haired man tried to keep it hidden.

The Fairy Tail members watched in disbelief as Gajeel was thrust back by the blow, falling face first into the cold floor of the arena. Gajeel was one of Fairy Tail's strongest members, watching him out on the floor with something as simple as a punch was truly amazing. Of course, he had fought ten other people before Ichigo, but it was still quite a feat.

But Gajeel was not out of the fight yet! He staggered to a standing position, his gaze hazy.

"You pack quite a punch!" he spat, getting into a fighting stance.

"Thanks" Ichigo said, rubbing his knuckles. They had turned a sickly red, and hurt like crazy. "God, you made of metal or something?"

"You wanna find out?" Gajeel threw a punch at Ichigo, who moved his head in all possible ways avoiding the attack. His attacks were getting much faster, Ichigo's evasions had to be quicker as well. He had to block a few of the attacks now, as dodging wasn't an option. With a roar, he clenched his fist one final time. He put all his brunt force into it, and punched Ichigo.

Ichigo didn't even blink. He raised his hand and caught Gajeel's fist moments before it could have done any serious damage. Ichigo, with his left hand, buried his hand into Gajeel's stomach. With a yell, Gajeel dropped to the ground.

"Did I win?" Ichigo asked, turning to a rather normal Makarov. Everyone else present had their jaws dropped.

"Yes. Good job, Ichigo" said Makarov, and hopped off of his seat and returned to the guild. What was up with that? Almost immediately, a roar went up.

"You defeated Gajeel? So easily?"

"You're strong even without your sword!"

"With you in our team, we can breeze through the next Grand Magic Games! You will be with us next year, right?" Ichigo nodded despite the thoughts in his head. He couldn't stay here for long. Not while the Soul Society needed him. But then again, he couldn't go there without his Bankai back.

But, until then, he'd have to settle with staying at Fairy Tail. And honestly, this place didn't seem all that bad.

* * *

Ichigo surveyed the request board. He couldn't wait until Erza came back. He needed to do something with the situation he was in. None of the job offers were particularly hefty. A few were mediocre, while a few were just bad. However, one job caught his eye.

**Extra pair of hands needed. Residence in Jever City.**

That was all it said. However, the person who had requested the job was the one whom Ichigo was more concerned about. He snatched the job and walked over to the drunkard, Cana.

"You know where Jever City is?" He asked, gesturing towards the paper. She continued to drink out of some barrel.

"Excuse me?" Still nothing. Ichigo sighed, and walked over to a blue haired girl.

"Hey. Do you know where Jever city is?" The girl nodded.

"Juvia is going to Jever City" she stated, and gave a quick nod. "Juvia can show you the way if you like"

"Sure" said Ichigo, walking out the guild hall with her. "I'm guessing your name is Juvia?"

"Correct" She nodded. "You're pretty strong. Not a lot of people can defeat Gajeel as effortlessly as you did"

"Thanks" He mumbled. They reached the train station rather quickly. They were in luck. The next train to Jever didn't leave for another ten minutes. They made their way into an empty compartment, where Juvia studied the boy before her.

Everything he did here resulted in something next to impossible. He had brought the whole guild to its knees when he'd arrived. He'd defeated Gajeel, and had made Erza cry. He truly was something else.

"How do you know Erza?" She said, catching his attention. His eyes seemed to soften when he heard her name. He looked out at the shifting scenery, before sighing.

"I honestly have no idea" He muttered. "I remember people...especially people like her, and yet there's not a single spark in my mind"

"Well, you simply aren't trying hard enough"

Ichigo shot her a questioning look. "No offense and all, but what gives you that impression?"

"Oh. When Juvia wants to learn something about, she does her research. She asks everyone around her about that person. Anything about that person, Juvia has to know.

Ichigo thought about it for a while. Erza Scarlet. The only thing he actually remembered was the small flash of memory that had suddenly awoken. But, something like that wasn't enough for him to claim he actually knew the girl. Heck, he didn't even remember seeing Erza in that piece of remembrance.

He looked over at the girl, who seemed flustered at the sudden attention. He chose his next few words as carefully as possible. He didn't want to sound disrespectful.

"Tell me...about Erza" He said. Juvia smiled faintly.

"Alright then. I remember meeting her when my previous guild was at war with Fairy Tail..."


	6. Chapter 6

The more Ichigo heard, the more he wanted to slap himself hard in the face. Erza Scarlet was not the type of person someone forgot, even if they were on the brink of death. The things she had done just for this guild...they were so much.

He'd thought Fairy Tail just exaggerated the fact that they were all one big family. And yet, the more he heard about them, the more he wished he could actually be a part of the guild. They were so close, so attached to each other it seemed impossible bonds like these existed.

Not a single one of them was dull. Each of them had such a unique past, that none of them were the same. However, the one he was most interested in was obviously the 'Titania'. Queen of Fairies...now that was a title. One the girl definitely deserved. She was only a year older than him, and yet his respect for her was huge.

Juvia talked of her as if she were a goddess. Ichigo didn't know if she were just glorifying her actions, or simply telling her how she saw the events. Apparently, she had made friends with a guy named Jellal Fernandes. From what Ichigo heard about him, he didn't like the man one bit.

He had been a childhood friend of hers, and apparently it went deeper for Erza than just friendship. So, then Jellal had proceeded to rip her heard apart.

"Erza came here from that place. It was called-."

"The Tower of Heaven"

The words came out of Ichigo's mouth as if he knew everything about the place. Juvia frowned.

"Yes. But how did you kn-."

"Erza told me about it. I asked her where she was from" He lied, hoping that would satisfy the blue-haired mage. Much to his relief, it did. Ichigo rubbed his forehead. How had he known that? Ugh. This was giving him one hell of a headache.

"Well, anyways" and then Juvia went on about how she had joined the guild and then everything since.

_How the hell did you forget her?_, Ichigo asked himself tapping his head from behind. You did NOT forget Erza. She was just a year elder to him, and yet she had done all these impressive things. Her friends must have meant a lot to her if she had planned on sacrificing her life for them.

This then diverted him to the pink haired mage, Natsu Dragneel. This guy was no flower in the breeze either. He was a menace, and apparently his power was 'limitless'. He guessed that was just Juvia's mind making things a bit more fun to listen to.

Juvia herself was odd to say the least. She had this unhealthy habit of referring to herself in the third person, and seemed to get dreamy eyes at the mention of the words 'Gray', 'ice' and for some reason 'strip' (How the word strip had jumped into this conversation, Ichigo had no idea).

Their train docked, and Ichigo could say fairly well that he might even know Erza. But of course, he knew that wouldn't be enough. From what he deduced, she knew him from BEFORE his mother had died. That couldn't be right...He remembered everything up until his mother's death.

Ichigo squinted at the job request. He had at least two days until he had to be there, so he decided he'd help Juvia (Despite her request of doing it alone).

"I'll be bored. There's nothing else I can do for the time being, so I'll just join you. I swear I won't take the money" Ichigo knew that wasn't the reason Juvia was reluctant of his help. She was a nice girl, and probably wanted to establish that she could do stuff on her own. In the end, she complied with his offer.

"So what's your job?" He studied the town as he walked towards wherever it was Juvia's job took her.

"Thieves. There seems to be a lot of them in this town. They steal every night. Juvia's job said that we need to defend this town against them"

"How many of them are there?"

"Twenty or so. But they are really fast"

Ichigo smirked. "Speed's not going to be a problem"

"What about your mission?" She asked, pleasantly curious. Ichigo shrugged it off, saying it wasn't very important. Ichigo was thankful that Juvia wasn't the prying stalker type. At least, he hoped she wasn't. They rented two separate rooms. Ichigo quickly retired to his, he had a few...things to ponder on. He closed his eyes, and willed himself to go back.

* * *

"You're back? Sorry to tell ya, king, but ya're still not ready to face that" He gestured to the spider. It looked pathetic. Its small leg were bent at unnatural angles, it bled (How? Ichigo had gotten tired of this bullshit technique to even care that much). "And you sure as hell ain't ready for that!" He pointed to the dark depths of Ichigo's minds. The parts from which these buildings sprouted into the sky.

"What exactly is down there?"

"More things like me. Strong, ruthless and sexy!" his hollow mouthed. Ichigo would have slapped his forehead if he hadn't been chained.

"Zangetsu?" He asked.

"He is not far from the truth, actually. Things down there represent a part of your soul. Of course, the part of your soul that this technique has grasped. It has twisted it into something...dangerous. Right now, you would be dead if you continued to go down there like this"

"So how do I escape this?! I know pretty much everything about Erza now, so why are these chains still here?!"

"Tell me Ichigo, how do you think you...know a person?"

"When do I know someone?"

"It's when ya understand what drives them!" His soul contributed, spinning his sword with the cloth on the hilt of Zangetsu. "Me, for example. I wanna burn, kill, roast, mutilate, cut, slash, stab and burn any son of a bitch that looks at me and laughs. Anybody who underestimates me, looks down on me, and calls me 'pale', die" He said this without stopping for a breath. It freaked Ichigo out.

"Who the hell calls you pale?" Was his best idea of a response. His hollow sighed.

"See? This is why I think you're a piece of weak shit" His hollow went back to stabbing the spider with a passion.

Ichigo turned to Zangetsu. "I guess he's right. I only know someone when I get their drive, when I understand why they do whatever it is they do. But come on! How is my peace of mind connected to her? I barely know her!"

"And yet, she has caught your attention. Why though? When you look at it, what you do is not all that different. And yet, your self-respect has taken a slide down. When you find peace with her, you will find peace with yourself"

_He thinks he's Rafiki,_ Ichigo mumbled. Zangetsu was right though. Ever since his Hollow had interfered in his fight with Ulquiorra, he didn't really know what to think. Sure, he had beaten up Gajeel in fighting, but there was still no way that could come close to beating someone whose power was close to the Fourth Espada.

Why was Ulquiorra even fourth? If Ulquiorra himself was that powerful, there were three Espada above him. Just how strong could they be? A sudden discomforting feeling surrounded Ichigo. Quite literally, in fact. Ichigo watched as another chain suddenly sprung out of nowhere, coiling itself around him.

_No, no, no, damn it! Calm down Ichigo, calm down_

He took long, deep breaths. It worked, as the chain fell down to the building, clanging noisily against whatever it was that made up the structure.

"Good. If you were able to accomplish that, surely you will be free of your restraints in a few weeks at the best"

"A few weeks? Old man, I don't have that lo-."

"Enough with your whining, king! For the love of god, if you keep droning like this, I'm going to come there and kick your ASS! Okay, so you want to get back? Fuckin' great. But why do ya have to be a cry baby and mention that so many times? The Seireitei are a bunch of pussies, but they're STRONG pussies, so quit your worrying!"

Ichigo blinked. Shockingly enough, he had needed that. He definitely needed that. Of course, it could have been less harsh, but it was good nonetheless. He got up, and nodded.

"Ya know what? Thanks, Hollow. I needed that. Zangetsu, do your thing and send me back"

"What? Why?"

"Because as much as I hate that guy, he's right. I sure as hell need to stop being such a dumbass. No more running away"

"That's the spirit, King!" His hollow said, taking the spider by its leg and spinning it above his head.

"Okay, maybe just once more" Ichigo said, and got out of the way just as the huge thing skidded down. And yet, for some reason, it didn't go all the way down.

"Send me back" Ichigo repeated. Sure enough, Zangetsu touched his forehead, and Ichigo disappeared. Zangetsu turned to his hollow, his face indifferent.

"Nice job. I didn't know you had it in you to help him"

"Of course I did. If I didn't, that thing woulda fucked him up seven ways to Sunday by now. I just don't understand why ya don't let me break his chains. It would make his life a hella lot easier?"

"Because there a few things he needs to overcome without our help. He cannot rely on the both of us forever"

"Can't argue there" agreed his hollow, before running towards the spider to start his mutilation all over again.

* * *

It was dark when Ichigo awoke. This was supposed to be the time where the Thieves entered the town. Ichigo and Juvia split up, since they had no idea of knowing from where the Thieves would attack. Ichigo stood guard carefully, his hand wrapped around his huge sword.

He had expected a lot of them to come at him, but to his surprise, only three were there. The three of them charged at Ichigo, not even thinking of the power he might have. It wasn't much of a fight. Ichigo flash stepped to each of them, hitting them with the handle of his sword.

He picked the one still conscious by the collar. "Who sent you? Why the hell did so little of you attack me?"

He gave Ichigo a horrifying grin. A few teeth were missing, and that had nothing to do with Ichigo. "We're just the diversion. Our master's been watchin' ya!"

"Watching me? And just what the hell has-." The impact of the thug's words finally hit him. They were a diversion. Which meant Juvia was probably up against a LOT of these guys. He growled and pushed the man down, before flash stepping onto the clock tower of the city.

Sure enough, he could see water rising and falling in another part of the city\town. Now that he thought about it, he didn't get why the town was called a city either. He flash stepped towards Juvia, who seemed to have no trouble at all with her opponents.

That was, until she took a punch to her stomach, and then another one to her face. She flew back and crashed into Ichigo, who somehow managed to not fall. He helped her up quickly, and studied her assailant. He was...peculiar.

He had untidy, long hair that fell until his waist. He had sharp, red eyes that seemed to pierce you. He had a grin plastered on his face, curving up his cheeks. If Ichigo wasn't mistaken, he saw something red at the edge of his lip. His attire consisted of robes not unlike those monks wore. In his right hand, he wielded a white katana.

"Juvia is dizzy" She mumbled, rubbing her head. Ichigo was surprised she could still stand after that blow, let alone say that she only felt dizzy. She was stronger than he had expected, he'd give her that.

"Go fight the thieves. Make sure they don't steal anything, I'll handle this guy" muttered Ichigo. Juvia was reluctant to do so, but Ichigo was one of those stubborn types, she could tell. She left to deal with the thieves.

"Who the fuck're ya?!" The 'monk's voice was raspy, as if his lungs were made of burnt cabbage. "I mean, we only saw you today. Big-ass sword ya got there, plan on using it?"

"Are you the enemy's leader?" Ichigo asked, his eyes narrowing down at the man in front of him. The monk laughed.

"Guess ya could say that! The name's Meler! Say, that blue haired bitch, she a friend of-." He brought his sword out just in time as Ichigo appeared in front of him. He brought Zangetsu down with both his hands, nearly crushing Meler.

"Don't talk about her like that" Ichigo growled, though it surprised him a little. He'd only known Juvia for half a day, yet someone offending her pissed him off. Fairy Tail was already making its mark on him.

"Ooh" Meler licked his lips, his grin seemed to only grow larger, even though it was clear Ichigo was overpowering him. He clenched his free hand. Ichigo's eyes widened as he noticed something gather around his palm.

"**Water God's Spiralling Pillar!**" he said, and pressed his palm to Ichigo. A thick, staggering pillar of water erupted out of his hand, pushing Ichigo away from him. He hit the clock tower. It wasn't much of an attack, but it was enough to send Ichigo back. Like a really strong push.

Ichigo winced as small gushes of steam came out his hands. _What the hell_?

"Like that? My magic's water is heated! Your skin's getting singed!" Meler said. Ichigo brushed the rubble away before facing Meler.

"I've faced worse. And trust me...you're going to regret what you just did" He flash stepped to Meler's side, swinging his sword in an upward direction, nicking Meler's shoulder. Meler clutched it as blood dripped down his side; his smile seemed to be fading slightly.

"You're fast. Sadly, speed isn't going to be all!" He slashed at Ichigo. Or at least, he had presumed that's where Ichigo was. His sword met air. He felt sharp pain near his side, were he swung his sword blindly. It hurt like hell. Again, his sword met nothing.

"Speed's looking really good right now" a voice from above said. Meler jumped back just in time. The ground broke into a small crater. Meler's grin was getting smaller and smaller. He placed one hand to his sword hand's shoulder and concentrated while moving. In a few moments, it had healed.

Now to the other one. But of course, Ichigo had no intention of letting him complete his action. Meler barely parried his hit. How could the boy move so fast with such a big sword? Their swords met once again, each of them fighting to overpower the other.

"**Water God's Slice!" **He growled. Ichigo's eyes widened to some degree. It was like the sword was now alive. In fact, he was putting up a match to Zangetsu. But that was impossible...right? He growled as he pushed Ichigo back, surprising the Shinigami.

"We'll be back, boy!" He snarled, his grin completely gone. That satisfied Ichigo a little. Whenever someone smiled at him in a battle, he always assumed they were looking down at him. Except Zaraki, of course. That guy was crazy.

"We?" Ichigo laughed. "Don't make me laugh, monk. You got your ass beat this time. If I were you, I'd stay away. Besides, what gave you the intention that I was going to let you go away?" As the words left Ichigo's mouth, he got his answer.

Meler was literally vanishing, his legs turning into smoke, continuing up his body. "Your name, boy!" He snarled.

"Ichigo Kurosaki. Tell whoever the hell you're going to, to not mess with this City. That is, unless you they want a nice ass beating!"

"You'll hear from us soon enough, Fairy! And trust me, when you do, you'll wish you'd never messed with me!" And like that, he vanished. Ichigo felt sudden fatigue wash over him. The throbbing on his chest was there again. It wasn't agonizing, but it was there, and it irritated the crap out of him.

"At least it didn't happen when I was fighting that thug" He muttered, Zangetsu now wrapped in its white cloth. He flash stepped up to the clock tower, and could make out a blue figure walking towards it. Juvia.

"Hey" he said as he appeared in front of her. "Got the thieves?"

Juvia nodded. "Juvia found it easy. And you?" She noticed the discomfort in his eyes.

"Asshole fled. He said something about finding us again. Kept saying 'God' in everything he did" Juvia raised her eyebrow.

"A God Slayer? You fought a God Slayer?"

"Kicked a God Slayer's ass, actually" Ichigo said, walking towards their tavern. "Might have also made a slight mess of the town"

"Juvia is sure the townsfolk will not mind. Fairy Tail saved them. The thieves stated they wouldn't come back"

"Is that so? Great. I better get some sleep, though. Need to do my job tomorrow" he muttered.

"Juvia will go with you" She volunteered.

"Uh...sure. Though, it's not going to be really interesting. Just, me helping this guy move"

"It's okay" she said.

"Guess there's no convincing you" He mumbled as they walked to the tavern. Something about Meler intrigued him.

* * *

Meler limped past the hallway and into the master's room. He wasn't going with good news, which was never a good thing when dealing with his master.

"So you're back...my, my, you look awful" a girl with curly hair and a plump figure chuckled from the shadows of the corridor. The guild wasn't well lit, as the members usually preferred the darkness to the light. Meler growled at the woman, but didn't bother replying. There was no denying he looked like crap at the moment. His hate for the orange haired Fairy heightened.

"Have to agree with her, if you're going to the Master like that, you're in for a bucket load of trouble" A voice chimed. It was filled with obnoxiousness. Meler recognized it immediately, the boots also playing a significant role in his deduction.

"Shut up, Darul! You didn't fight the guy!"

"Yes, I didn't. But I'm sure if I had, it wouldn't have ended this pathetically. We really shouldn't have left a job as important as collecting cash to someone as weak as you"

"Quiet, Darul" Another voice said. Much more stern, much more feminine. "Master wishes to speak to Meler. Do not forget that he has the same title as you, and that each of us must be treated with equal respect"

"Yes, Miss" muttered Dural. Meler staggered towards the huge door at the end of the corridor and sung it open. Sure enough, the huge curtain lay at the far end of the humongous room, that seemed devoid of any furniture other than the curtain.

"M-master, I am afraid I have bad news. Our plans might not go as planned..."

"And why is that?!" The voice behind the curtain spoke. His voice was powerful, like boulders grinding against each other.

"A-an unexpected hindrance, Master. He is strong, very strong in fact. He was able to fight me and overpower me without much of a problem"

"This speaks volumes of your power, Meler. Do you not think it could be the other way around? That you were simply too weak?"

"I doubt it, Master!" He said, his voice louder than intended. "I practiced God Slaying Magic under your tutelage. Very few can match my power"

"Yet, you are the weakest of the Slayer's Legion, Meler. Something like this cannot be left without punishment" Meler got on his knees and bowed.

"Yes, master" He said, as he felt something surround him. He felt like a thousand volts had just struck him, coursing through his body. He screamed loudly, though no one would think much of it. Screams from the Master's room were not uncommon in the Guild. Meler thrashed around from the pain, and finally settled, his clothes singed.

"Go. And do not be the bringer of bad news, next time" he said, though it was obvious Meler wasn't going to be moving for quite some time. The Master had things to think about. Looked like his plans would not go as expected. Meler was indeed, tough. If his opponent had indeed been formidable, it would pose a threat.

* * *

**Author Notes: Well, that was quick, wasn't it? Ha-ha...Yeah, sorry about the late update. This should have probably come out last week, but I never really got a lot of time. Anyways, here it is. Now, there might be a few things in this chapter that might seem a little...unexplained, and those things will be explained in the upcoming chapters. Hope yall enjoyed!**


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